You're welcome. Rinpoche seems very interested in exploring the world teaching on-line, and Lama Yeshe Wangmo's organization--who organized this event--arranged this. I won't be able to watch--please tell us how it goes.

Pero wrote:Can you say a bit more about this teaching? Throma Nagmo is a wrathful deity and related to Chod practice?

This is a major cycle from Dudjom Lingpa -- it has chod as an important part of the practice, but it is a cycle of Dzogchen teachings very much connected with Anuyoga, which has complete tregcho and thoga instructions.

Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

Pero wrote:Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

Pero wrote:Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

I think you need the Wang to attend

I didn't see that requirement on the website. My assumption is that Rinpoche will be teaching on the short Throma sadhana from Traktung Dudjom Lingpa (Thro chung), and will also touch on the supershort Throma sadhana from the Khandro Thukthig cycle of HH Dudjom Rinpoche.

That being said, Rinpoche is always teaching Dzogchen, no matter what the ostensible topic. The teaching program in LA is sold out, and the empowerment had to be moved to a larger location to accommodate the number of people who wanted to come.

I'm really happy more people will get to know Rinpoche through webcasts. He is easy to see in person several times a year, see www.vajrayana.org.

Last edited by Yudron on Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

Pero wrote:Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

Pero wrote:Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

Rinpoche very rarely gives practice commitments.

It seems like the empowerment isn't a part of the webcast, am I correct?

/magnus

"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided."- Longchenpa

Pero wrote:Cool, thanks! I browsed around their website a bit and it seems this particular teaching will be about a short sadhana of Troma Nagmo. Do you or anyone else know if there will be recitation commitments or something?

Rinpoche very rarely gives practice commitments.

It seems like the empowerment isn't a part of the webcast, am I correct?

/magnus

I've heard that he does not have confidence in electronically transmitted wangs and lungs, but I have never discussed this with him.

Norwegian wrote:If the empowerment is not present for those who follows the webcast, what does that mean then? Can those who participate in that webcast practice this Throma without the empowerment?

If the empowerment is necessary, but not part of the webcast, then it seems a bit difficult.

It does not appear that the empowerment is being required in order to listen via webcast to these teachings. So, enjoy the teachings. It may be clarified during the program what people who have not had the empowerment should do if they want to do the practice on their own. Generally, it's best with Tibetan lamas to ask questions like this directly to the lama for yourself as an individual, rather than asking in a group setting on everyone's behalf.

The Throma cycle is one of the great three complete cycles (creation and completion) in the Dudjom Tersar. It begins with ngondro and continues through Mahayoga and chod and on through to the highest level of practice. At least 14 practitioners who specialized in these practices attained rainbow body.

In recent years' large empowerments in Tibet by Achuk Rinpoche or Nepal for Dudjom Yangsi or Bhutan or big crowds in India like Rinchen Terzo by Namkha Drimed Lingpa or the thousands attending Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul's Terzo it was in effect by electronic means. As the overwhelming majority were outside those temples and heard it via electronic loudspeakers, just like computers' but bigger. In addition they were not seeing the lamas' faces. In a video webcast you can see them too. The lama's intention, capacity and synchronous timing are the main factors. It is then up to them to decide if they can transmit lungs that way or not. Some lamas gave lungs by phone too. I believe Trungpa Lingpa used electronic means for transmission a few times.

Whether it is a thousand miles away or a thousand yards away outside the temple building, it is the same principle as it is not the old way anymore but using electronic speakers. Unless you start to specify metric measurements as to where the empowerment dissipates which is absurd. Several other big name lamas have been giving webcasts too, some with lung some not. All these masters giving webcasts are students of Chatral Rinpoche and other great masters like Chokyi Lodro Khyentse , Dudjom, etc. They do as they see fit and in their capacity as lamas and/or tertons.

wisdomfire wrote:Anyone knows if this teaching of Throma Nagmo belongs to the Anuyoga or Mahayoga? If it is Anuyoga? Can we practise using CHNNR's essential way of generating the deity?

All of the Dudjom "mahayoga" sadhanas are said to be Maha Ati, but, of these, Throma is the most ati.

The Throma cycle contains almost all the anuyoga practices, but they are framed as atiyoga support practices rather than anuyoga per se. There are three fully developed cycles of practice in the Tersar... the other two have much more developed anuyoga practices and texts.

If you're practicing Dudjom Throma, it makes sense to follow the instructions of a Dudjom lama about what the approach to kyerim is. Classically, one gathers the wang, the lung, and the tri (instructions), and after that practices the deity in closed retreat. Dudjom Lingpa gave specific guidelines for how to accomplish the Throma cycle, starting with ngondro, then a mayayoga retreat, then a chod retreat, and so on. It's spelled out very clearly.That being said, lamas may accommodate working people in various ways.

wisdomfire wrote:Anyone knows if this teaching of Throma Nagmo belongs to the Anuyoga or Mahayoga? If it is Anuyoga? Can we practise using CHNNR's essential way of generating the deity?

Yes, the practice for which LTR transmitted the lung is an anuyoga practice (according to how ChNNR defines anuyoga, which is that the generation of the deity is instantaneous, not gradual). I don't know if it's ok to do it in ChNNR's "essential" style. Others may have their opinions, but I would try to consult a Dudjom Tersar lama about that - or ask ChNNR himself (explaining that you received the lung, and the style of transformation is anuyoga). Of course, as Yudron suggests, if you're very serious about accomplishing Throma and you have the time and resources, it would be best to get all the transmissions and do the whole practice from Throma ngondro all the way to atiyoga practices, which could take years. In the meantime, if your circumstances do not allow that, it is perfectly legitimate to practice the short daily sadhana as given.

wisdomfire wrote:Anyone knows if this teaching of Throma Nagmo belongs to the Anuyoga or Mahayoga? If it is Anuyoga? Can we practise using CHNNR's essential way of generating the deity?

Yes, the practice for which LTR transmitted the lung is an anuyoga practice (according to how ChNNR defines anuyoga, which is that the generation of the deity is instantaneous, not gradual). I don't know if it's ok to do it in ChNNR's "essential" style. Others may have their opinions, but I would try to consult a Dudjom Tersar lama about that - or ask ChNNR himself (explaining that you received the lung, and the style of transformation is anuyoga). Of course, as Yudron suggests, if you're very serious about accomplishing Throma and you have the time and resources, it would be best to get all the transmissions and do the whole practice from Throma ngondro all the way to atiyoga practices, which could take years. In the meantime, if your circumstances do not allow that, it is perfectly legitimate to practice the short daily sadhana as given.

Being an excellent scholar, I'm sure Namkhai Norbu has sound reasons for classifying practices in this way, but FYI your going to really baffle most Dudjom people -- including lamas – if you call Throma an anuyoga practice. The terton himself never used that language to describe any aspect of the medium or short deity practice, or the cycle in general, and neither did Dudjom Rinpoche in the supportive texts.